Filling carrier drive for shuttleless looms



June 2, 1959 M. R. FLAMAND 51- AL FILLING CARRIER DRIVE FOR SHUTTLELESSLOOMS Filed April 9, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Mnumc: R. FLnMnNoQNTHONY J. Toscuzs A TTORNE Y hired States Patent 2,888,956 FILLINGCARRIER DRIVE FOR SHUTTLELESS LOOMS Maurice R. Flamand, Valley Falls,-R.l., and Anthony J. 'Tos'ches, Milford, Mass, assignors to DraperCorporation, flopedale Mass a corporation of .Maine Application April,9, 1956, Serial No. 57.7,004 3Claims. 139-422) This invention relates toan improvement in shuttleless looms and more particularly, toimpro'vedmeans for actuating the filling inserting members.

' It is a general object of the invention to devise means forreciprocating filling inserters which shall besimple and iriexpensive tomanufacture and which shall function with "a high degree of efiiciency.

A more specific object is that of devising such means which shall employonly spur type gearing.

A further object is that of providing reciprocating means actuatedthrough cranks or eccentrics and pitman means and in which theparticular motion delivered shall conformto the most acceptable practiceinsofar .as the efiiciency of the filling insertion is concerned.

' Another object is that of keeping lost motion in the system at aminimum.

Another objectis that of devising mechanism in which noise, wear andneed for adjustments are all kept at a minimum.

Other objects will be apparent from thefollowing more detaileddisclosure.

In shuttleless looms filling is sometimes inserted by flexible meansadapted to be attached to reciprocating wheels or the like. Theseflexible members are equipped with means by which picks of fillingmay'be drawn from a supply at the side of the loom and inserted-first asa loop pushed part way through the shed ahd which is then taken by theopposite inserting meansand a released .end of the loop drawn through tothe opposite side, all as shown and described in United States Patent2,641,285.

For the most part these fiexible inserters are attached to light,wheel-like means which are oscillated to and fro, the inserters beingwrapped about the wheel and then released from it as they are projectedinto the fabric. These wheels have been oscillated by various types ofsector driven gearing, by combinationsofoscillatiug bevel geared trains,and by oscillating levers which were cam operated. All are complicated,use cams, gear systems and devices which introduce high friction lda dsand in manyinstances do not eventuallylproduce, a proper or .nearlytheoretically correct motion for theins erters. Again some are expensiveand complicated, and also wear rapidly. They freqnentlyhave too muchlost motion so that improper action is often experienced.

According to the'invention, ayery simple system has been devised whichemploys spur type gears only and which is operated by eccentrics orcranks on a rotating shaft in the loom. These cranks are connected tocrossheads movable in slides by pitman members while the crossheads areprovided with rack teeth to mesh either with a gear connected to thesame shaft the wheel is mounted upon, or, more preferably, as will beexplained, with an intermediate gear which will reverse the rotation ofthe wheel from what would prevail if driven more directly.

The invention will be described in greater detail by reference to aspecific embodiment thereof as shown in the accompanying figures ofdrawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a loom to which the invention hasbeenapplied. i i

Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing one end of the loom, the parts beingenlarged as compared to Fig. l. i

i Fig. 3 is a section taken along a vertical plane as at line 3-3, Fig.2.

Fig. 4 is a'section taken atline 4-4,.Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail View of a small part of the drive showing'amodification. i i

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic View showing the timing as in thepreferredform. it i Now referring to Fig. 1, a loom similar to that of UnitedStates "Patent 2,641,285 comprisesamongother parts, loomsides 1t) and11, girt" 12,3 breast beam 13 anda shaft 14 which is drivenby"a'sui'table source of power such as the motor'15 through gearsYnot'showriL' ,This shaft may also carry camshnd other parts which form apart of the loom operating mechanism, but should, however, be driven onerevolution for each pick ihserted. The loom has harness frames 16, a topmotion 17"and a fabric take-up and wind up means such as shown in UnitedStates Patent 2,722,240, by which afabri roll 18 iseventuallyformed. i ii As shown more clearlyin Figs. 2 and 3 in addition to Fig. 1, acombination of bracket 19 bolted to loomside 1t] and a brace 20 supporta housing 21 and its cover 22 within which a wheel 23 is mounted bycertain means which permits adjustment, to a shaft :24. "This wheel isof light construction and has attached at an appropriate point at itsperiphery, a flexible inserting member in the form of a steel tape 25which has a filling engaging head 26 of the typeshown in United StatesPatent 2,705,508. This tape tends to assume a straightened condition andis aligned to enter the shed by a guide 27.. It is tobe understood thatthe mechanisms at either end of the loom are substantially similar, butthat one inserter-has a head adapted to project a loop of filling partway through the shed while the other is provided with a hooked headtodraw an end across the remainder of the shed.

Bracket 19 is also formed with a web'2S1 supporting a bearing 29 for oneend of shaft 24, and thenextends rearwardly to form a housing 30 closedby a cover 31 within whichis enclosed a gear 32 fixed to that end ofshaft24 as shownin Fig. 4. A second bearing-33 is provided for shaft 24which is adjustably restrained axially by a collar 34 at the bearing 29and a hall 35 at the shaft end, this ball being positio ned by. a screw36 locked in cover 31 by a nut3-7.

The wheel 23 is oscillated through a prescribed angle by means includinga .crosshead 38 at one face of which teeth are cut to form a rack 39.This crossheadis movablein a slide 40 made up from guides il and 42bolted to a faced end 43 of the exten'ded part 44 of housing 30. Thecover Si is also projected to enclose this extended casing 44 and formsa support 45 for a bearing 46 alignedwith anothenbearing 47 intheextension 44 within whichis rotatable a short shaft 48 of'anintermediategear- 4 9. This gear conueys motion from the rack to gear -3 2'butreverses the direction from what it would otherwise be for reasonsto be explained.

The crosshead is reciprocated by an eccentric means carried by somedriven member of the loom, the speed of which should be equal to onerevolution for each complete pick to be inserted. Here this means takesthe form of a crank 50 having a flange 51 in which there are cast threeor more bosses 52 drilled for screws or bolts to pass through the flangeand also into another disk or, as here shown, gear 53. The hub 54 of thecrank is thus free to be moved about shaft 14 since either the boltholes in the flange or in the disk are elongated. The parts may beadjusted and are locked in an adjusted position by screws 55 and 56threaded through a part of the flange aesaese 3 51 and bearing againstpin 57 which is fixed in the disk or gear as the case may be. Theposition of screws 55 and 56 is maintained by lock nuts 58 and 59.

Crank 50 is connected to the crosshead by a pitman 60 pivoted at 61 atthe crank end and at 62 at the crosshead. The latter is an extendingpart of the plate or back of the crosshead which is preferably bolted orotherwise fixed to that part which carries the rack teeth and slides inthe guideways formed by parts 41, 42 and 43. A positioning dowel may beused. It is preferred that each pivot be provided with an anti-frictionbearing. The pitman head at one end (here the top end) is split as shownto facilitate removal.

The wheel 23 is also adjustable to an extent since as it is bolted to aflange 63 through slots or the like, its position may be adjusted andlocked by eccentric disks 64 and 65 held in place by two of the screwsand bearing against a pin 66 in the hub of the wheel.

The rotation of the shaft 14 thus reciprocates the crossheads and theirracks through the pitman connections and the racks, in turn, oscillatethe gears 32 through the intermediate gears 49 so that wheels 23likewise oscillate to actuate the filling inserters. The use of theseintermediate gears is very important since it favorably affects thetiming of the parts. The inserting of filling must be timed in looms ofthis type to occur while the lay is substantially stationary.

There is a dwell of about 200 more or less during which the fillingcarriers or inserters may be in the shed. This means that for theremainder of the cycle both should be outside the shed and, of course,that time interval occurs while the carriers are being withdrawn beyondthe shed extremities so that it becomes desirable to slow down themovement of the carriers during that part of the cycle. Otherwise, thealternative, if a simple drive through an eccentric or crank is to behad, is to widen the loom by extending the distance of centers 24 beyondthe shed extremities.

As seen in Fig. 6, the crank 50 is at lower part of its swing duringthat interval and due to the peculiarities of a crank and short pitman,the actual distance x which the rack is moved is very small compared tothe distance it would move if the top of the swing were being used thenas it would be if there were no intermediate gear. In the latter casethe same period of dwell would be accompanied by a carrier movement ofy. In actual practice the difference in a 40-inch loom is about 7 inchesor a total added loom width of 14 inches with dwell of the laycoinciding with the top part of the crank swing. The present arrangementalso makes possible the easier engagement of the filling by theinserting head and assures a slower motion at the start while thecarrier is drawing a loop from the supply at the very high rate of pulloff from that supply as is characteristic of these looms.

At Fig. 5, a simple form of the drive without an intermediate gear isshown but, of course, this, although simple, does have the disadvantagesabove mentioned. Here a gear 67 is directly in mesh with a rack 68reciprocated by a pitman 69 similar to the previously describedstructure, but, of course, with functions occurring at oppositeextremities of crank throw as compared to the preferred form. The wheel70 will be oscillated,

and if width of loom is not of concern and higher speeds not soimportant, this simpler arrangement may be employed.

The problems of lubrication and gear wear are reduced since there arefewer gears, fewer bearings and the gearing is all of the spur typepresenting less friction. The bearings carry smaller loads andpractically no thrust load. Thus costs are down, both for the originalinstallation and for upkeep.

These desirable characteristics are obtained without the use of camswhich are expensive, costly and also give rise to high friction loads atparts of the cycle.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to beunderstood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number ofways. This invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precisedetails described, but is intended to embrace all variations andmodifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and thescope of the claims.

We claim:

1. In a loom having opposed flexible filling inserting members, wheelsto which said flexible members are attached and by which they arealternately advanced and retracted, a driven shaft in said loom andmeans for oscillating said wheels in unison which comprises at eachwheel, a spur type gear fixed for rotation with said wheel, a crossheadand slide disposed adjacent said gear, an intermediate spur type gearrotatably mounted to mesh with the gear first mentioned, and teeth onsaid crosshead constituting a rack meshing with the teeth of saidintermediate gear, an eccentric means fixed to the shaft end and apitman connecting said crosshead and eccentric means.

2. In a loom having opposed flexible filling inserting members, wheelsto which said flexible members are attached and by which they arealternately advanced and retracted, a driven shaft in said loom, meansfor oscillating said wheels in unison which comprises at each wheel, ashaft to which that wheel is fixed and a spur type gear fixed to theshaft adjacent the wheel, a crosshead and slide means positioned formovement adjacent said gear, a crank fixed to the shaft end and a pitmanpivoted at the crank and to said crosshead, rack teeth on said crossheadand an intermediate, motion reversing spur type gear meshing with saidrack teeth and with the teeth of the gear first mentioned.

3. Mechanism as defined in claim 2 wherein said crank is angularlyadjustable to time the action of the filling inserting means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS733,586 Hutchins July 14, 1903 1,825,110 Coyle Sept. 29, 1931 2,082,909Robertson June 8, 1937 2,165,890 Foster July 11, 1939 2,548,663 Fletcheret al. Apr. 10, 1951 2,641,285 Flamand June 9, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS1,107,586 France Jan. 3, 1956

